traces
of the catastrophe everywhere. Three sides of the principal square
of the city, in which formerly stood the government, or governor's,
palace, the cathedral, and the townhouse, were lying like dust heaps
overgrown with weeds. All the large public edifices were "temporarily"
constructed of wood; but nobody then seemed to plan anything permanent.

[Former heavy shocks.] Manila is very often subject to earthquakes;
the most fatal occurred in 1601; in 1610 (Nov. 30); in 1645 (Nov. 30);
in 1658 (Aug. 20); in 1675; in 1699; in 1796; in 1824; in 1852; and
in 1863. In 1645, six hundred [12], or, according to some accounts,
three thousand [13] persons perished, buried under the ruins of their
houses. Their monastery, the church of the Augustinians, and that of
the Jesuits, were the only public buildings which remained standing.

[Frequent minor disturbances.] Smaller shocks, which suddenly set
the hanging lamps swinging, occur very often and generally remain
unnoticed. The houses are on this account generally of but one story,
and the loose volcanic soil on which they are built may lessen the
violence of the shock. Their heavy tiled roofs, however, appear
very inappropriate under such circumstances. Earthquakes are also
of frequent occurrence in the provinces, but they, as a rule, cause
so little damage, owing to the houses being constructed of timber or
bamboo, that they are never mentioned.

[Scanty data available.] M. Alexis Perrey (Mem. de l'Academie de
Dijon, 1860) has published a list, collected with much diligence from
every accessible source, of the earthquakes which have visited the
Philippines, and particularly Manila. But the accounts, even of the
most important, are very scanty, and the dates of their occurrence very
unreliable. Of the minor shocks, only a few are mentioned, those which
were noticed by scientific observers accidentally present at the time.

[The 1610 catastrophe.] Aduarte (I. 141) mentions a tremendous
earthquake which occurred in 1610. I briefly quote his version of
the details of the catastrophe, as I find them mentioned nowhere else.

"Towards the close of November, 1610, on St. Andrew's Day, a more
violent earthquake than had ever before been witnessed, visited
these Islands; its effects extended from Manila to the extreme end
of the province of Nueva Segovia (the whole northern part of Luzon),
a distance of 200 leagues. It caused great destruction over the entire
area; in the provin